The Sun and The Moon
by water soul
Summary: In the era where one mistake can cause the everlasting rule of the vampires, it's dangerous to love. But somehow, three people manage to do it. The problem? The loves they find are actually their most dangerous of enemies.
1. Chapter 1

Hi! I know I'm working on another story, ya, ya, but I couldn't resist!

Disclaimer: Thought I forgot about this, didn't ya? Well I didn't so, HA! Naruto does not, and most likely, never belong to me.

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Chapter One: Prologue

People don't believe in supernatural creatures, they believe it is a figment of one's imagination-something false, something not real. But, they never thought, those ideas, those fairy-tale creatures, had to come from _somewhere_.

For those skeptical ones, you must be thinking, if they _are_ real, why don't we see them? See, there are two kinds of creatures in the world: the bad and the good.

Believe it or not, back in the ancient times, the humans and the good creatures co-existed peacefully because back then, the humans _believed_ in them. But as time passed, and technology progressed, humans began to lose the ability to believe in magic, and soon, magic and magical creatures were but fantasy to them. The good creatures went into hiding, casting illusions so the humans would not find them, for they knew, what the humans did not know and believe they feared, and they killed their fears. Not wishing for fighting, they vanished, and only to the few good humans did they reveal themselves.

But the evil creatures were not lucky. Having too much pride to hide themselves, they were forced to mingle with humans when they took their land. Why, if they were so evil, did they not attack the humans then? The reason was because they were not stupid. The humans, though they did not know at the time, had many of the vampires' few weaknesses.

And by the time they _did_ find out, it was too late.

The sinister ones were forced to mingle, and, in doing so, had to destroy many of their weaknesses to adapt. The result is horrific, for now, vampires can go out into the sunlight when before even a touch of it would kill, wooden stakes cannot hurt them, and nor can garlic drive them away. Holy water was like regular water to them now, and fires were their slaves-it could not harm them. Crosses don't hurt them either.

In fact, they only had one weakness now-the strike of silver, pure silver, is still poison to them, and even so, they have found ways to touch pure silver temporarily.

This is because the buildings in which humans lived always allowed sunlight in one way or the other, and they'd had to adjust to that, by adjusting to sunlight. During the era when humans would build their houses out of wood, vampires had had to survive the wooden pieces that would sometimes fall from a patch in the house, and in doing so, became immune to them. During the Salem Witch trials, they'd had to adapt to getting sprayed with holy water, and too, became immune to pain from it. Fires often started later on, and they'd had to learn how to control it. They had to pass by Christian churches a lot of the time, and many people had crosses around their necks anyway, so the vampires had to get used to it, and soon, the crosses didn't bother them anymore. The only reason why they were still afraid of silver was because most of the "silver" in the human world were not pure, and so, had not been put to the test by it-yet.

They, along with the demons, grew beautiful, because they had had to trap prey easily and quickly and dispose of the corpses quickly before anyone should suspect them and kill them.

With time, they grew so lovely that all they had to do to get prey was wink at it, and then the prey would follow, no questions asked.

As a result of this, vampires were the most powerful creatures now, and would have ruled over the humans long ago-had it not been for the hunters.

The hunters used to be primarily humans that still believed in magical beings and wished to save their race. But demons soon realized that the vampires were dangerous and needed to be stopped before they could rule the world with their power, and almost all of them joined the hunter group as well. Because of this, there are many half-demons running about.

This story is about hunters and vampires. Enter with me, readers, into a world where you have to look underneath the underneath to survive, where every judgment is fatal, where every chance matters.

Enter with me, fellow readers, into a story of betrayal, friendship, trust, and ultimately, love.

For those who have weak hearts, leave, for this journey involves a great many heartbreaks and tears, and a prophecy that must be fulfilled.

Here is the story about the sacrifices used for eternal peace, and without further ado, please step from the room of reality, and through the door, into the endless world of fantasy.

---

I know, I know, lame. Pfft. Sorry, but my writing skills are a bit…dull…and…boring…ah well…For those who actually bothered to read this, THANK YOU! You don't have to review but I'd just like to know at least SOMEONE is reading this, okay?


	2. Chapter 2

Konnichiwa, minna-san. I put an OC in here because I need her to make sure the story works right. I hate doing this, but…what can you do?

Disclaimer: I own no one in this story except my dear OC, Tora.

Oh and before I forget, readers can choose the pairings. HOWEVER, it is going to be strictly SasuNaru, so there can be no side SasuSaku, or any other pairing involving either Sasuke and Naruto and NO TRIANGLES CONCERNING THEM.

Now, with that out of the way…

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Chapter Two: Bananas and a Mission

It was a boring day in Konoha's hunter station. A girl with long dark blue hair lazily peeled a banana, pale fingers for once moving slowly. Pale eyelids drooped over emerald eyes flecked with silver. A yawn came from the girl and then a snore. The banana wilted a bit under the loose grip on it, and looked to be in danger of falling flat on the floor.

Suddenly, a rumble came from the corridor, and BOOM! There was a yellow and blue flash and all of a sudden the girl found herself slapped awake, banana miraculously surviving the movements and managing not to get squished or dropped.

"WAKE UP TOOOORAAAA! THERE'S A MISSION! FINALLY!" The hyperactive boy exclaimed happily, eyes turning into sparkling blue stars.

The girl named Tora yawned, covering her mouth politely with a graceful hand.

"Is that so, Naruto?" Yesterday had been tedious. Some blood-sucking bastard had been stupid enough to leave a bloodless victim lying in plain sight to see, and Tora had been one of the hunters sent to clean up the mess.

She'd had to stay up all night destroying the memory of all those who had seen the corpse.

Allow me to explain. The humans aside from the hunters didn't know about vampires-they still thought they were imagination's products, and the hunters felt it was better that the other humans didn't know about them. It would only cause panic and chaos, not to mention it'd turn humans against humans, as vampires could easily pass off for one. That was what the vampires wanted now and they weren't going to give it to them.

The world depended on them, the hunters, after all. One little slip-up for them meant the whole world crashing down. It was a well-known fact among the hunters that the vampires were powerful and could control the world at any time-if the hunters messed up…then well, there was no one else to stop them, and everyone would be doomed.

Anyway, this explains Tora's state of sleepiness. Usually, she was very energetic and fast.

"I don't wanna mission…" Tora whined, falling back onto the sofa outside the medical room and trying to get comfortable again.

See, the operator of the whole organization was the Hokage, better known as Tsunade-hime, or, in the boy, Naruto's case, "Tsunade-baa-chan". As an undercover organization, they operated in the secret part of the Konoha Hospital. This was perfect because if anyone was attacked by a vampire, they would be sent here, and they could be treated quickly, if, in that particular case, the vampire that had attacked had chosen to make his victim a vampire.

They were now in the secret organization quarters. Medical rooms were also situated there, for the hunters to regain their strength or heal their wounds and whatnot.

Hunters had their own rooms in the organization building, and you're probably wondering why Tora isn't in her bed resting right now. Well, the answer is simple. She was simply too tired.

"Well, too bad. Tsunade-baa-chan asked for our presence."

That got her attention.

"You mean, Gaara too…?" Tora asked grumpily.

Naruto nodded.

Tora sighed. She knew this was important if they were calling the three of them, but still…She sighed yet again and looked at the beige sofa longingly.

Naruto huffed impatiently, grabbed Tora, flung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and marched to Tsunade's office. Oh, and look at that! The banana is STILL not squished or anything!

Tora bit the fruit half-heartedly. Shikamaru, a brown haired hunter looked at the pair amusedly and sighed. "Guess I'm really influencing you, eh, Tora?" The genius asked teasingly.

Tora scowled at the excellent strategist.

"I thought we were friends!" Shikamaru mock-gasped lazily.

Figures. Shikamaru could make anything seem lazy.

Tora tried to kick him.

Naruto sighed and shook his head, energy suddenly gone. "You two make me so tired."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Saa, I've got to go now. Ja ne."

"Ja ne." the two chorused, and their brown-eyed friend walked away.

Naruto then commenced their journey to the Hokage's office.

---

The Hokage's office door was made of what looked like glass and wood, but the material was far stronger than any of these two materials. The word, "Fire" was upon the door and Naruto knocked.

A muffled, "Come in" came from behind the door, and Naruto entered.

"Oi, baa-chan." Naruto waved a greeting.

A shoe came flying out of nowhere, and Naruto side-stepped to avoid it.

When he was still a genin, and even when he was a chuunin, he'd never been able to dodge it. (There are ranks in the hunter organization. You first started in the academy, where you learned how to fight with weapons against vampires. Once you graduated from the academy, you became a genin. As a genin you trained under a jounin, a high-ranked hunter. After you became a chuunin, you won't need a jounin instructor, and can take on C, B, or D missions. See, missions are ranked. D missions are everyday things; slaying weak vampires, etc. C missions are slightly harder, involving trying to get information out of a vampire during a fight. B ranked missions are often espionage, and A ranked missions usually involve espionage and assassinations. S-ranked missions deal with espionage, assassinations, and highly dangerous vampires. After you become a chuunin and an elite jounin, you can become a member of the ANBU, a specialized team of hunters that deal specifically with disposing of powerful vampires. The only rank higher than ANBU is Hokage. )

Tsunade smiled inside, though her face was frowning outwardly.

"_He's grown so much…"_ she thought fondly.

Naruto laid a half-asleep Tora on a black sofa beside the doors and turned to Tsunade.

"So, what did you call us for baa-chan? A mission?" he said hopefully.

"_But some things never change."_ Tsunade thought.

"Hai."

"Really?" Naruto started jumping up and down in his elated state.

Gaara, who had been sitting in a dark corner, suddenly stood up and walked over to Tora, sat down, and poked her cheek. She swatted his hand away with her remaining banana peel.

The red-head looked up to find the two blondes looking at him with odd expressions.

"What?" he snapped, green eyes taking on a crabby edge. "You called her too, so I think she should be awake to hear this." The poking commenced.

Naruto gulped, uncertainty welling up in his throat. He shook his head, spiky blonde hair swaying with his movement. "I don't think that's a good idea." He said, referring to the poking, blue eyes wary on the half-conscious girl on the sofa.

The hokage's long blonde bangs tilted to the side as she looked at the girl on the sofa. Amber eyes twinkled guiltily.

She stepped from behind her chair and walked up to the sleepy girl. Taking a bottle of pills from her pocket, she took one red pill from it, and forced the girl to eat it.

Immediately, energetic Tora returned, smiling happily, and thanked the Hokage. Tsunade merely smiled and said, "You're welcome."

She took her seat back behind the huge desk and faced the trio, chin on her hands and eyes regarding them seriously.

"I have an S-ranked mission for you." There was a deathly silence.

There had been few S-ranked missions, and for a good reason, at least to the hunters. See, S-ranked often involve plans to take over the world-bad news for the hunters.

The trio understood that and was silent, expecting.

"This involves Orochimaru, Akatsuki, and the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans."

The trio's eyes couldn't help but widen. Orochimaru was once part of the organization, but for power and immortality, betrayed the organization and became a powerful vampire and had recently started a village only for strong vampires. He, having information on how the system in the organization worked and knowing the former organization location was a formidable opponent. Akatsuki was a group of very, very, strong vampires and evil demons that have been proven to be planning a way to destroy the hunters and control the world, but as of yet, the plan of which they want to act upon is unknown. The Hyuuga clan and the Uchiha clan were special clans of vampires that have special abilities. While the Hyuuga can see through walls, the Uchiha clan can predict an opponent's movements and accordingly block and attack them. They were both formidable opponents, even though the Uchiha clan members WERE down to only two, for the two remaining ones were known to be prodigies.

For all four of the organization's most troublesome enemies to be put together in the same sentence was a bad, bad thing.

"From some very reliable sources, we have reason to believe they are collaborating in something big. As the organization's best hunters, I request for you to take this mission. You have no say in the matter."

Tsunade grinned a bit, trying to lighten the mood.

"The mission is to find out what their intention is and, after finding out this, kill the following."

Tsunade pushed five manila folders forward, and, Tora, sitting between the two male hunters, retrieved them and opened up the first one.

A picture of a snake-looking man was on the corner of the paper. His eyes were golden and dilated, and he was pale. Purple make-up was around his eyes. The statistics on the left side of the picture confirmed him to be, indeed, Orochimaru.

Tora opened up another folder and a picture of a man with silver hair in a pony-tail and huge Harry Potter-esque glasses was found on it. The man's name was Kabuto.

"As you can see, this is Kabuto, Orochimaru's loyal follower. We want him to be killed as well, for he is the other likely leader other than Orochimaru, and we'd rather be on the safe side and kill him to prevent the remaining people in his village from having a new leader and attacking us."

Tora opened up another one. This man showed a man with pale skin, strange white eyes, and long black hair. He had a stoic expression on his face.

"This is Hyuuga Neji. Though he is not the heir to the throne, he is a genius, and sources say he is the one who gives the most solutions that lead to success."

Tora closed the folder and glanced to the side, and Naruto did as well. Gaara was blushing a bit and still staring at the folder. Tora's eyes dulled. Immediately, she could tell this was not going to be an easy mission.

Sighing, she opened another one.

A picture of a man with pale skin, onyx-colored eyes and bluish-black, spiky, duck-behind hair was on the report.

"This is Uchiha Sasuke, younger son of the late head of the clan."

Tsunade frowned and said, "He's a prodigy, like his brother, and can be a very dangerous opponent in battle. No more could be recovered."

Tora didn't close the folder like before, and instead, stared at it a long while.

"Tora?" Tsunade asked worriedly.

Tora blushed a bit at having spaced out and waved away the concern.

"I just find him…funny…"

"Funny?"

"Forget it." And then, giggling, as if laughing at a personal joke, she glanced at Naruto, which he did not notice.

Tora giggled again, closed the folder, and opened a new one.

A man that looked a lot like an older version of Sasuke was displayed. His hair was tied into a low pony tail and he had a killer's eyes. Tora shuddered. She could practically feel bloodlust roll from the photo, so strong was it.

"That is Uchiha Itachi. Elder son of the former head of clan and elder brother of Uchiha Sasuke. He mastered his family's special bloodline ability at a young age, and is part of the Akatsuki."

"Speaking of which," Tora said, placing the folders in a neat pile on the desk in front of her, "Do you have any information on Akatsuki?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"Ah."

"Yes. Tonight, go and hunt as you normally do. We have currently no idea on their current location, and if you get lucky, you might find them. If you do, try to kill them. It's obvious that they are planning something big, and that the aforementioned people are a big part of it."

"Understood." The trio chorused.

"Alright. Get some rest now."

"Okay!" Naruto and Tora cheered, while Gaara grunted and gave Tsunade a pointed look. "Oh right. Fine, then don't sleep, rest, whatever, then, Gaara. Do what you usually do." And with that, waved them off.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Tsunade sighed, and then whispered, "Rest, because you shall need it."

---

It was night. Woken up by her alarm clock, Tora started to get ready.

She pulled on her hunter uniform, which was a loose long-sleeved shirt and baggy black pants. Over it, she wore a black jacket, just in case. Around her neck she wore a silver necklace with a silver pendant, and on her wrists, she wore silver bracelets.

Strapped on her right upper thigh and left calf were both pouches filled with silver kunai and ninja stars. On her back, she strapped on several silver shuriken. On each side of her hips hung a single, silver katana, the hilt on one was dark blue, while the other, crimson. Each katana was sheathed in a black sheath with an intricate design of gold.

Sighing, she pulled her eccentric hair into a bun, making sure no strands escaped it, she pulled the black hood of her jacket over her hair and then slipped on the mask she wore every night to keep her identity hidden.

It depicted a cat, a black cat. The mouth, nose, and eyehole were traced with gold.

A knock sounded at her door and she pulled it open to be greeted with Naruto. He too, wore the black clothing. The only weapons she could see on him were the pouches strapped on his thighs that were undoubtedly filled with weapons, and the shuriken on his back. But she knew there were plenty of other weapons hidden in his shirt, shoes, and whatnot.

He wore a fox mask, which was dark crimson. The eyehole was outlined by a thick black, and the whiskers and mouth were made with black too.

The two greeted each other, and then made their way toward Gaara's quarters.

As always, Gaara was loaded with weapons. It wasn't totally obvious, but Tora knew that there were weapons in every possible nick and cranny of Gaara-boxers included. She'd been unlucky enough to be there when Gaara whipped his trusty weapons out of them.

She winced at the memory.

He wore the uniform as well and had on a sand demon mask.

The three nodded at each other and walked to the mission desk, where missions, ranked C or D were being handed out.

The chuunin at the table, Iruka, smiled at them. Tora smiled back, though she knew that he couldn't see her smile. The tanned hunter handed the three of them D-class missions.

The trio mumbled an almost incoherent "thank you" and then went out of the mission room.

As they walked down the corridor, Gaara, in one of his rare moments, asked, "What's your mission?" as he leafed through it.

"North Section of the city, exterminate at least five weakling vampires." Tora mumbled, bored. "May kill higher-leveled vampires as well, no information obtaining is required."

Tora glanced at Gaara. "You?"

"Oh." Gaara said. "West Section, help victims avoid vampires." His voice had a disappointed tone to it.

"I have…" Naruto said, "East Section, eliminate the regulars." Naruto sighed. "Borrriiiing."

Tora slapped him upside the head. "Don't take regular vampires lightly. If you do, _they'll _have the advantage.

"I know, I know." Naruto grumbled, rubbing his head gingerly.

Tora sighed as they reached the end of the tunnel that led out from the building of the organization. Carefully opening the lid of the trap door after making sure no one was there to see them, she glanced around at the top just in case again, then hoisted herself up and held the door open for the other two.

They jumped out gracefully and Tora quickly closed the door.

Through the mask, she could still smell the city, a weird mix of pollution and fresh air. She breathed in deeply. Though the air was dirty, it held the scent of home. Looking at her companions' nostalgic faces, she had no doubt they were thinking of the same thing.

"Well, ja!" Naruto said, and Gaara disappeared as well.

"Guess it's all me then…" Tora sighed and set about her mission.

---

Naruto jumped from tree to tree in the park he was currently in. Quickly heading toward the town in the middle, where he knew there to be the most vampire killings, at least in that section.

Just as he landed on another branch however, something snapped, and Naruto whirled around and threw several shuriken toward where the sound had come from.

A vampire shot out and landed in the tree in front of him. "Stupid hunter…" it sneered at him.

But then it smiled, that sweet, seductive smile that had led other mortals to their doom.

"But then again, I guess I'm lucky. Hunter blood tastes, oh so much sweeter, than regular blood."

Naruto clenched his teeth. He hated how that vampire had said that, as if humans were nothing more than food!

He faced the vampire. The vampire was, like the rest of his kin, beautiful. This one had short, black hair and blue eyes. Even from a few feet away however, Naruto could tell that the vampire was weak.

Before the cocky vampire could even react, Naruto stabbed it with a silver kunai. Its mouth opened in an "o" of horror before it collapsed, curled up and collapsed into dust.

Naruto lit a match and burned the ash away so that the vampire could not reform.

Sighing, he said, "Amateur."

Then, he disappeared back into the shadows and continued on his way.

---

Gaara was having the time of his life. He had just been cruising around when he had been ambushed by a large group of vampires. And though it wasn't his mission, he was being attacked right? So that means, to defend himself of course, he can kill them! No?

Gaara was practically giddy with joy.

He was in the center of a ring of vampires, all of them snarling at him. He raised his arms in a gesture of defeat, and then…pulled out a whip from the pocket near his neck. It was long and it made slapping noises against the roof of the building he was on. Too quick for the eye to see, he flicked his wrists and the whip stroke out at a vampire, quickly turning into ash, which was, in turn, burned promptly.

Gaara flicked his wrists again and the whip went around, killing all the vampires permanently in its path. Some vampires made a run for it, but he quickly caught them with his whip, and they died.

Not long after, all the vampires were gone, ashes and all.

Gaara sighed, disappointed. And here he was…hoping for a good fight. "Oh well," he thought, and then went on with his mission.

---

Tora sighed. "Boring…" she muttered, and went on jumping from roof to roof, unhindered.

Occasionally, when she saw a vampire, she'd throw a silver kunai down at them, and they'd always hit. The vampires would crumple to dust, and then be burned automatically, for she always lathered her weapons with this special substance that burns away the ash after the vampire turns into it.

Suddenly, a chill passed her, and she turned, eyes behind her mask glowing.

She ducked down behind an ally and listened carefully.

There were footsteps coming toward her, and then the noise stopped.

Tora's eyes narrowed and she felt her heart beating faster in slight anxiety and anticipation.

Another set of footsteps came toward her front, and Tora feared that she may have been seen.

There was silence. Tora pulled in her aura as much as she could, held her breath, and waited.

Finally, a lisping voice said, "Uchiha-san, how I fancy meeting you here…"

That voice reminded Tora of a snake-and she hated it.

"Cut the crap, Orochimaru. What did you call me for?" The person said, purposefully straining the man's name.

Tora nearly gasped. "Orochimaru?" she thought.

"Ah, impatient as always, Itachi." Though his tone was light, there was obvious anger in his voice….and a pinch of…smugness?

Tora winced. They knew she was there.

Still, however, she remained nailed to the wall, but a hand inched its way to her twin katana, still in her sheath.

Out of nowhere, a shuriken smacked into the wall to the right of her, nearly clipping her nose, and she held back a little "eep".

"_Oh well," _she thought. _"Desperate times call for desperate measures."_

A few seconds later, Tora wasn't there anymore, and in her place was a black cat with four tails. The girl-turned-cat curled up in the corner formed by the walls and closed her eyes.

Sucking in all her chakra so that it was undetectable, she waited. A moment of silence followed, and then she heard someone come and pull the shuriken from the wall.

A snake-like voice muttered, "Guess no one was there."

"Alright, _Itachi_. We'll meet again someplace else later."

"Hn."

Silence.

A rat skittered by and out of range, into the open. A moment later, it went back, unharmed, not noticing the cat in camouflage.

Checking for any chakra signatures and finding none, she found it safe to come out and did so.

Brushing dust off her shirt and pants she sighed and thought, "Well, that was certainly more than I expected for this mission."

She stepped out, and on the floor, was an immaculate white envelope. Curious, she edged toward it and stared in horror at it.

In neat script, the words "To the Hunter Who Is Hiding between the Walls" were written in bold black ink.

She waved a fan and the wind forced the opening of the envelope open. The letter slid out and a passing breeze pressed it flat enough to read.

On it, in the same handwriting, were as following.

"_Dear Hunter, _

_I think it was not fair for you to think you have escaped my notice, so I will tell you here that you have not. You do not need to know which one of us was the one that wrote this. All you need to know are as follows: The next meeting place will be where the clear substance stops, where the trees die and where the blood was spilled. I already know. I hope to meet you there, hunter. See if you are smart enough to figure it out. _

_Sincerely From, _

_You-Need-Not-Know_

Tora set the paper on fire.

Then, she checked for any trackers, magical or not, and finally, deeming it safe, started back to the organization quarters, as the sun was already starting to rise.

---

Naruto yawned, and yawned again.

Gaara shifted uneasily and tugged his dark green T-shirt down a bit.

Tora sighed, crossing her black baggy jeans-clad legs.

The train they were on jerked again and the three of them jumped along with the train.

Tonight was the official start of the mission. Tora had spoken to Tsunade of the incident the night before, and Tsunade had said to disregard it, and that it was a trap, then set her on the way.

Still, it bothered her.

The pregnant woman sitting beside her on the white and yellow subway chair let out a little snore and her head fell on her shoulders. Tora sighed and resigned to her fate.

Bored, Tora observed her two companions.

Naruto was wearing an orange hoodie, with two dark blue stripes going down either side of his sleeves. He also wore faded and torn blue jeans and orange and blue sneakers.

Gaara wore a simple dark green T-shirt and army pants, along with black and white sneakers.

Tora smirked, catching a few teenage girls sitting across from them giving the two boys "seductive" glances. Naruto being Naruto, and Gaara being Gaara, they didn't notice.

"Someone remind me why we're doing this again?" Naruto complained, pulling the hood of his orange hoodie over his head.

"Because the stupid hag told us to." Gaara snapped, glaring down at his black and white sneakers.

"Now, now, don't be like that…." Tora said. The pregnant woman had given back Tora's shoulder in favor of the cold metal pole to the left of her head and Tora took this chance to straighten the shirt that the pregnant woman had wrinkled.

It was a white long sleeve, and over it, Tora had worn a black, puffy vest.

Gaara gave her the dark glare of doom and Naruto stepped on her black and blue sneakers.

….Hard.

Tora yelped, earning herself a few startled glances, and rousing the woman beside her from sleep.

The woman looked at her with confused eyes, and Tora smiled at the woman apologetically.

"Sorry…"

The woman just smiled at her.

"It's alright…It's my stop next anyway."

Feeling slightly less guilty, she turned to her two friends angrily, one of which who smirked at her, and the other, who stuck his tongue out at her.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she muttered to herself, "This is going to be a long ride."

---

A few excruciating hours later, their stop came up, and the trio walked out the train's doors. This late at night, there were only a few people milling about. Walking up the stairs and onto ground level again, they looked around.

They were in the slums of the city. Garbage was everywhere, and the smell was nauseating. The small apartment buildings loomed over them, a dark mass in the night, since the street lamps were broken. However, the place was far from abandoned, and that is the reason for wariness.

Drunken people stumbled down the streets, and homeless people lined the streets like decorations. Not too far ahead, flashing neon lights shone.

"Alright guys…ready?" Gaara said, staring into the lights. His red hair reflected the red of the lights, his green eyes shone oddly.

Naruto closed his sapphire-colored eyes, and his spiky blonde hair waved back and forth in the slight breeze.

Tora gazed unblinkingly ahead.

"You already know the answer…" Naruto said.

"So why bother asking?" Tora finished.

Without more words, they walked toward the lights.

---

On either side of them, neon signs flashed, nearly to the point of blinding them. Numerous night pubs and bars lined the streets, and some dark stores selling merchandise occasionally showed themselves too. As they stopped outside a pub named, "Crimson Fires", two burly men came out, drunk and angry, and faced each other.

They started to fight, and after a few minutes, impatient, Naruto called out to them.

"Oi, fat people! HELLOOO? Would you mind NOT blocking the entrance with your fat asses?"

"What did you call us?" The two men faced him.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You know what I called you."

Tora and Gaara stared at each other and mentally wept. There goes, "don't attract attention to yourself"…

"Are ya pickin' a fight with me, ya brat?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "NOO! OF COURSE NOT! AND YOU ARE VERY PRETTY MEN!" he said sarcastically.

"Oh that's it," the man to the left snarled, face red in anger. He motioned to the men by his side. "GET HIM!"

Naruto just stood there as the men charged at him. Tora and Gaara sighed and walked around the men to get into the pub.

Before they could, however, the two burly men from before stopped them.

"And where do you think YOU'RE going?"

Gaara calmly spun around, kicked the guy in the head, and sent him sprawling. "Don't. Touch. Me." Then, he entered the pub after showing the guy at the entrance his ID.

Tora stiffened as the other man draped an arm around her, and wrinkled her nose at the smell of the man's breath, which stunk of alcohol.

"Looks like your boyfriend abandoned you."

Tora's expression remained stoic. The man at the entrance watched, amused, and didn't even try to help her.

"Well then, let's have a good time." The man chuckled, and….

Tora's eyes shot open. Oh….he did NOT just do that!

Tora spun around and punched the man in the face, knocking out a few teeth and then kicked the guy in the groin with bone-shattering strength.

She sniffed, showed the wide-eyed guard her ID, and then shuffled into the pub.

Naruto watched Tora enter the pub and sighed.

"Looks like I have no choice…"

He breathed in deeply, and then bent down and swept the guys around him off their feet, and knocked them out. Naruto ran for the door, and after showing the guy at the door the ID went inside as well.

Tora and Gaara were waiting for him on the other side. As soon as he entered, they gave him glares.

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Oopsie?"

Unknown to them, a certain pale-skinned Uchiha had been watching Naruto….and had unfortunately taken an interest to him.

---

The walls of the pub were painted a dark red, and in the center was a dance floor, where bodies gyrated against each other. Further on, there was a stage, where, currently, a beauty with violet eyes and red hair was singing. To the side, there was a mini-bar, and that was where the trio headed.

A pretty bartender was there, wiping a glass. She had dark hair and white eyes.

"Hello, how may I help you?" She asked when they sat down on the stools.

"Oh, we just want to ask some things."

"Oh, alright." The bartender said indifferently.

Tora leaned in so that the bartender and she were face to face. Her eyes started to glow when…

"If you are trying to find information on my cousin and his plans…don't bother using whatever you were using to the info out of me…it'll just be a waste. I'll tell you willingly."

…Well, that was unexpected…still…

"How do we know what you will tell us is not a lie?"

The bartender snorted. "Frankly, I don't care. Whatever happens to you is not my concern."

The trio exchanged quick glances at each other.

"Alright, spill."

"Okay. My name is Hyuuga Hinata, former heir to the throne."

The trio's eyes widened, but now, knowing whatever Hinata told them was the truth. Admitting something like being the heir to a powerful vampire clan was no small thing-it was dangerous, and only the people holding the true position would be so bold to declare it so.

"My cousin is Hyuuga Neji, who took my place as heir. See, in the other vampires' presence, I always pretended to be a stuttering fool so I would seem weak. I knew if I kept it up, my stoic cousin would be appointed the new heir to the throne by my father." Hinata smiled, satisfied. "And I finally did it."

Tora frowned. "Well, that's not exactly a good thing for us."

"I know, and I'm really sorry, but after so long of trying to satisfy my father, I just…I want to please myself for once, instead of other people. You understand, right?"

Tora nodded dumbly, surprised to see the sincerity in Hinata's eyes.

"I suppose you want to find out the plan."

"I can't tell you."

"Damn it." Tora thought, "And I was hoping it would have been easy."

"But…I know someone who will, if you offer enough. He can't lie or he'll die, so you don't have to worry about him lying to you. Walk down this block, take a right turn, and on the corner of that street, there's a small store that is named, "Skull Bone Secrets". Go in there and ask for someone named Ebisu."

"Arigatou."

"Douitashimate." Hinata replied.

And so, the three of them headed outside again.

---

Skull Bone Secrets was a little shop in a dirty one-way street. The streets were dark, and nondescript shapes were dumped in every which way. The sign of the shop was not noticeable, nor were the ones on the other shops on the small street. It was caked in grime and dust, but a human skull with a crossing of bones behind it can still be made out amidst all the dirt and the name of the store can be made out as well. There was a huge glass window to the left of the store, and it too, was unclear from all the dust it had collected. What can be made out in the store were just darkness and some darker shapes that the trio guessed to be merchandise. The door was wooden, with a small, glass window on top, and on the golden door knob hung a sign that read, "CLOSED".

Tora looked at the dirty, once-sparkling-clean doorknob and said with a gulp of disgust, "You open it."

Gaara rolled his eyes, and opened the door with his gloved hands.

Tora eyes automatically started glowing, and soon, she could see perfectly. That, however, didn't save her from getting tripped. It was no surprise since the wooden floors of the shop were covered in trinkets and objects.

Gaara closed his eyes and searched the shop for any chakra. He found one hiding in a corner of the shop. It was weak, which was why they hadn't noticed it upon entering the shop.

Gaara motioned for them to follow him, and they did with quiet steps.

Gaara led them into the back corner of the shop, stuck out his hand, and grasped the hiding person's neck.

The person struggled fruitlessly. "Ngh….Stop it...I….can't…breathe…"

Gaara released his grip a little. "Are you Ebisu?"

"Yes." A weird angry noise followed, and the person muttered, "Darn this curse…"

"Tell us the plan."

In the darkness, Tora could see the man pale.

"What plan?"

"You know what I'm talking about." Gaara replied simply, and tightened his grip on the poor man's neck once more.

When silence followed, Naruto gave Ebisu encouragement to speak by placing his kunai very close to Ebisu's wrist.

A strangled cry came from the man, and he cried breathlessly, "Alright, alright!"

Naruto retracted his kunai, and Gaara replaced his grip on Ebisu's arm.

"Okay, just let me open the light."

"No need." Tora said. "I'll do it."

A moment later, dim lights came on. Ebisu was revealed to be a pale man with sunglasses on and a dark blue bandana around his head. He wore a simple black shirt and pants.

"Now that we're all cozy," Naruto said, "I ask, WHAT IS THE PLAN?"

"What you need to know, is that they will be meeting at Sandy Hollows."

Tora blinked, and then paled.

See, Sandy Hollows was where the end of the River ZaiLong stopped, where the trees were bare and dead, and where the legendary battle where the hunters and vampires fought took place….where the blood was spilled….

The words on the letter came back to her.

_The next meeting place will be where the clear substance stops, where the trees die and where the blood was spilled._

The clear substance was the water of the river, and that ended there. Trees die at the Sandy Hollows, and blood had been spilled.

"The plan is to…." Suddenly, Ebisu let out a shrill scream. He suddenly knelt down on the floor, and the glasses fell off his face.

Naruto winced. Ebisu's eyes had been gouged out, and where they once were, were now empty sockets. Now, he collapsed on to the floor, and stayed there.

Gaara came close to Ebisu and passed a hand over his body. After a moment, he sighed, and said, "It's no use. He's died."

Naruto leaned on Tora and cried out dramatically. "Nooo! I wanted this mission to be easy!"

Tora glanced at Naruto with mock disdain and kicked him off her.

"Come on, let's go."

They left the store, and as they did, the lights flickered off.

----

That was a sucky chapter, and I didn't like it. But, oh well, I hope YOU do!

This story, I'm aiming for at least 100 reviews. I doubt I'm gonna get it though…

Well, until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

Hello. Next Chapter. Um…ya…

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, except Tora, in this story. GOT THAT?

Chapter Three: Beach and Missions

Naruto dragged his two cranky-looking friends out of the apartment they had been given for this particular mission. All their clothes and other essentials were already loaded in, and after last night, they'd gone back to their apartment before dawn and had slept. Still, it was not enough sleep, and both Tora and Gaara were cranky. Though Gaara was used to no sleep at all, he didn't like his tired state one bit.

Tora and Gaara drilled glares into Naruto's head, both envying the other's hyper-activeness.

Naruto was dressed in blue shorts and an orange T-shirt, along with black sandals. On his shoulders, an orange duffel bag hung on its black strap.

Gaara was wearing a crimson shirt and white khakis, along with white sneakers, and he too, had a duffel bag on his shoulders, except it was red and black.

"Oh come on!" Naruto screamed in Tora's ear as they were waiting for the light to turn.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" he sang. He handed Tora some orange juice.

Tora painstakingly raised the bottle and drank.

Nothing happened, and Naruto sighed disappointedly and turned back to staring intently at the "Don't Walk" sign. Seconds later, the light changed, and Naruto turned back to his companions.

"LET'S G-''

Tora cut him off by bounding past him in a skip, her ponytail bouncing along with her.

"No! Tora! Do NOT bounce in the skirt I made you wear…"

Tora blinked, and then said, a bit confused, "Skirt?"

She looked down and screamed. She was wearing a black halter top and a dark blue skirt, along with silver flip-flops.

Tora looked at Naruto with accusing eyes, disregarding the strange looks they were getting.

"I-well…you were asleep…and I never saw you in a skirt so…" Naruto stuttered and tried to make up an excuse on the spot.

"You took…advantage…of my sleepy state….and gave me this…this…" Tora gestured toward her outfit and spluttered.

"It's called a skirt, Tora." Gaara said.

Tora stared at him as if he'd said a bad word.

"It wasn't my fault!" Naruto cried, "I mean, I just gave you the outfit, and you just went back into your room and dressed in it and…"

"NAAAAARRRUUUTTOOOOO!" Tora screamed in anger. She whipped off her black and blue duffel bag and chased a screaming Naruto across the street.

Gaara sighed and looked at a stricken-looking woman.

"I'm ashamed to know them." He said to her, and then rushed off after his idiot-friends.

---

A few hours later, the trio found themselves at the beach. A lot of people were there already. Children built sandcastles and rushed after each other, armed with water guns. Parents sat under the shade of their individual umbrellas on their blanket. Teenagers lay in the sun, working on a tan.

Overhead, the sun shone clear in the blue sky, the water twinkled happily, and the sand felt warm underneath their feet.

The place exerted the exuberance and warmth that their night life could never provide, and Tora and Gaara forgot their grumpiness for awhile, and mentally thanked Naruto. If not for him forcing them to see this, they'd never have came here, and would have missed the greatest day of their lives.

Tora looked at Naruto and laughed. He seemed to blend in with the beach itself, his hair as yellow as the sand and sun, his eyes the color of the ocean before them.

"Let's go guys…YOSH!" Naruto slid in between people and got a spot moderately close to the ocean before anyone else and settled down. He slid open his duffel bag, took out a blue blanket, spread it on the sand, and then stuck a white umbrella on the sand so that it loomed over the blanket.

"Okay…let's see…Tora, you have the food in your bag, and Gaara, you have the suntan lotion. Tora, Gaara, PUT ON THE LOTION RIGHT NOW. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE A RED, SKIN-PEELED YOU LATER THIS DAY, GOT IT!"

"Yes, mother…" The two chorused. Naruto just rolled his eyes.

Tora took her bag and looked inside. Inside was a whole cooler, as well as already-made bowls of ramen, chopsticks, chips, sushi, and…and…

Tora looked at Naruto with new respect. "How did you get all these in here?"

Naruto winked at her. "My secret."

"Alright. I get dibs on the onigri. You made me leave the apartment without breakfast after all…"

"I didn't eat either, so whatever."

Suddenly, Naruto started taking off his shirt. "Um, hello, we're in public?"

Naruto looked at Tora strangely.

"This is a beach." He said to Tora as if she were a baby, "People where trunks here all the time…" He tugged at his blue shorts.

"These are my swimming trunks…"

"Oh." Tora said, embarrassed.

"By the way, you can just take off your skirt. The halter top is actually part of your swimming suit."

"You know how weird it feels to know that your friend knows what you are wearing and you don't?" Tora said to Gaara.

"No, and I'm thankful." Gaara took off his shirt and pants to reveal that he had worn black trunks with red stripes on the sides underneath.

"I'll give you the lotion later." He said to Tora. "Okay." She replied.

Naruto took out his bowl of ramen and grinned, snapping open his pair of chopsticks. "Itadakimasu!"

---

After finishing their breakfast, Naruto had gone off to swim, and after Tora had put on sun lotion, she had gone too. Gaara finished putting on his sun lotion, and laid back under the umbrella, closing his eyes.

He was relaxing when suddenly, sand sprayed on his face. His eyes snapped open, and he shot up, looking to his side. A Frisbee lay there innocently. He looked up to see a girl that looked sort of familiar running toward him.

The girl looked at him with pearly eyes and held out her hands. "May I please have my Frisbee back, Mister?"

"Sure…" He handed her back the Frisbee.

"Sir, my cousin has gone for a minute…would you like to play with me until he returns?"

"….Sure…but, if you don't mind, can we play near here? No one else is watching over our spot."

"Sure, Mister!"

And so, Gaara stood up and played with the little girl with the Frisbee.

---

Tora had left her skirt and flip-flops in her bag. Now, she walked bare-foot around. She sighed, bored.

"Miss! Miss!" She looked up from the ground to see a boy running toward her. He had a cherubic face, brown hair, and huge, sparkling blue eyes.

"Yes?" she asked when the boy stopped before her.

"We need one more player in our gun fight! Can you please be our player, Miss?"

"Sure!" she exclaimed.

The boy beamed and took her hand, leading her quickly through the crowds of people. They came upon a spot with a purple umbrella and a flowered blanket, and the boy handed her a water-gun lying there. He took her hand again and led her toward a bunch of people.

They were noticeably split into two groups. One group was filled with teenagers and the other, kids looking like the boy's age.

The boy introduced himself as Keito, and then introduced the other people quickly after. Then, with a quick yell, the game was started.

---

Tora rolled behind a gigantic man and cocked her gun. She hadn't operated a gun-water or real, in a long time. She pulled the trigger and pointed it toward the sand to see if it would work. It did. She smirked. "Now, let's see if my skills are still top-knotch."

She spotted a team-mate sneaking behind a girl with blonde hair and brown eyes from the other team. She was looking anywhere but behind her. She smirked as the team-mate from her team shot the girl in the butt. The girl whipped around, eyes angry, and yelled at the retreating boy.

"You're gonna pay for that, Kanjii!"

The boy turned around briefly to stick his tongue out at the teen.

"I'd like to see you try, Kiko!"

The girl dashed off after the boy with a correctly held gun, and her long legs carried her across the sand quickly.

Tora couldn't quite stifle a giggle. They had no idea that that was how they hunted vampires. "Tsunade-sama was right…naturals at hunting can be found in the weirdest places of all."

She snuck off in the shadows of the umbrellas, sneaked up on a brown haired, green eyed girl, and shot.

The girl let off a yelp and turned to her, hair drenched and hanging in her eyes.

"THAT'S IT!"

With that, Tora took off with a girl running after her.

---

Naruto was swimming around when he decided to go a bit more farther from the shore. To be safe, he followed the coast.

He sighed, flopped onto his back, and closed his eyes, letting the ocean carry him for awhile. He opened his eyes and stared at the sky above, eyes reflecting the sun. Golden sparkles danced in blue eyes, the exact replica of the water in which he swam.

He sighed contentedly. He'd always wanted to come from the underground and see the sun for once….just once…and he'd gotten his wish. He couldn't help but feel light as air right now, so elated was he. Right now, he felt like he could accomplish anything-from flying to finally ridding the world of vampires.

Oh, he knew. He knew that without evil, the balance of the world would collapse, and they'd be dead in an instant. That's why he didn't wish for all evil to be gone-just the vampires. They were creating a strong imbalance, and the hunters just barely helped balance it. If only the vampires were gone…if only small evils remained…life would have been so much easier.

Suddenly, his head hit something. He shot up and discovered he'd come across something he hadn't noticed from the main land. Somehow, he'd drifted off to a hidden shore. Huge boulders surrounded either side of this small shore, and there was sand. Further on, a forest with dark trees loomed. Curiosity awakened, Naruto slipped out of the water and headed into the forest.

He was awed. The trees were huge, and their trunks thick, their leaves dark and healthy. It provided a cool shade from the relentless brightness of the sun, and…for some reason, this dark place provided comfort…which was unusual for him; after all, he found comfort in light most of the time. He sighed and breathed in the refreshing air.

A voice stopped him from his musings and his heart skipped a beat.

"What are you doing here?"

His eyes widened. Despite how relaxed he was being, no one could have sneaked up behind him without him noticing!

Naruto turned around only to find no one there. His eyes furrowed. Where was the voice coming from?

"I'm up here, dobe." A blur of black and suddenly, Naruto found himself facing a young man.

He couldn't have been much older than him, and he had dark blue hair, almost black and obsidian eyes. His skin was pale, TOO pale, and he wore a black T-shirt and black baggy jeans that hung low on his hips. He wore black sneakers, and Naruto found to his dismay that he only reached up to the stranger's chin.

Naruto couldn't help but feel as if he'd seen him somewhere…

The folder from the mission flashed before his eyes. He noticeably tensed.

"I ask again, what are you doing here?"

He remembered him now.

"It's none of your business." Naruto snapped. Geesh, what did he have to do to get some relaxation around here?

He was…

The man suddenly grabbed his neck and pinned him against the wall.

"Answer me." He said, leaning in close, so that their noses were touching.

Uchiha Sasuke.

---

Gaara sighed as he threw the Frisbee back to the hyper girl again.

"When is her DAMN COUSIN COMING BACK ALREADY?" he thought.

Suddenly, the girl peered at someone over his shoulder and cried, "Cousin! Cousin! You've come back!"

Gaara's eyes sparkled warily. He hadn't sensed anyone coming….and he was one of the best trackers…in the whole organization.

"Sorry, cousin, and who might this be?"

Warm breath ghosted over his ear, and Gaara refrained from shivering.

"Huh?" The girl said, and then understanding dawned. "Oh! This is a nice onii-chan that played with me while you were gone!"

"Oh is that so?"

Gaara was uneasy. After all, when someone was very, very close to your neck, it was instinct to be that way.

He felt the person step away from him and walk toward the girl. Some tension escaped his body, but he still remained wary. The person had his back to him, so he couldn't see his face, but he could see that the person was pale, and he had long, dark hair pulled into a low pony-tail. The person was wearing only black swimming trunks.

The mysterious guy turned, and Gaara's breath hitched.

….It was Hyuuga Neji.

He didn't know what to do…damn it, where was Tora when you needed her?

As if answering his question, a teenage boy ran past him, followed by his emerald-eyed friend, who was holding a water gun and laughing maniacally.

Tora paused to give him a quick greeting and a look of encouragement, before dashing off to resume her chase, shooting and hitting her mark every time.

Gaara cursed her for leaving him in this situation, but his head cleared, and he could think what to do again.

Neji had his eyebrows raised at him, so Gaara merely said, "I don't know her.", and continued from there.

---

Tora looked behind her in worry for Gaara. It wasn't like she didn't WANT to help her fellow friend and hunter-it was just that it would seem weird if she suddenly appeared and helped her friend like that. She knew from the folder they had seen that this particular vampire was no retard, and doing something like that would have jeopardized the mission.

She sighed and continued aiming the water at her opponent.

Five minutes later she'd run out of water, and rushed to the ocean to fill some more. When she was done, she rushed into the battlefield once again.

As she passed her team's base, aka the place where she got her gun in the first place, Keito stopped her and gave her a whole bag of water balloons, plus a bazooka-looking thing.

"This water-bazooka, as I like to call it, can act as a canon for the water balloons as well as shoot a whole ton of water out on someone. Alright, that's it…SHOO!"

Tora did so, with an "Aye, aye, cap'n!"

Laughing evilly, she loaded the water balloons into the bazooka and dropped her water gun on the base. She rushed pass Gaara again shooting balloons everywhere, and to her approval, found the two in deep conversation.

She ran out of balloons, and went to fill up her bazooka again.

By the time she was done with the other team, and her team declared victor, she'd drenched all of the other team's members.

The other team members all gave her a look of awe and respect as a teenager from the other team wrung out a ton of water from his T-shirt that had just been inflicted upon him by her.

Tora had just giggled, handed back the water-weaponry and said to the people that had participated in the water fight, "Thank you for a fun time, guys."

"No problem." They'd replied, and Tora went on her way.

When she got back to their spot, Neji was sitting on their blanket and the little girl was munching on some chips.

Tora suppressed a smirk. Looks like Gaara was doing well.

"HELLLLOOOO!" She suddenly said from behind Gaara, and Gaara jumped, putting on a fake mask of astonishment on his face, though Tora knew that he'd sensed her a long time ago.

Then, Tora pretended to just notice Neji.

"Aw, who's the hottie?" Tora said, nudging Gaara teasingly. Gaara stared at her as if she'd grown nine heads and just barely remembered to blush.

Tora smirked evilly. She'd always teased Naruto during under-cover missions, and had been a bit perverted as well in those teases. She felt bad for Gaara-I mean, he knew that she was a bit…crazy when sugar high, but what he DIDN'T know, was that she was crazy all the time, really. She didn't know where she got this perverted side from, but she felt like it was important.

Also, most of the time, especially during missions, Gaara saw her to be cold, serious, and quick. But the fact was, she only went on assassination missions with Gaara, not counting this time, and of course, she HAD to act different on assassinations.

On under-cover missions however, she was opposite of what she was on assassinations because part of the goal of such missions was to get the people to trust her. With her lazy, care-free attitude with a touch of perverted-ness and humor, people relaxed around her in a jiffy. Not that no one trusted her when she was serious as well-Tora didn't know why, but Tsunade had remarked once on how she just gave out this aura that showed she accepted everything and anything, and that, underneath everything, she was a wise person, and that, because of that, almost everyone confided in her.

And it was true. In tough fixes, people came to her for consolation, even the genius Shikamaru. How else did you think he got together with Ino?

Of course, this doesn't mean she acted in her respective personalities. You could say that she had….a split personality. She had no idea how she developed it, but she used to only have one personality-the cold, shy, serious one she took on during assassinations. Then, around her pre-teen years, she developed the more perverted, crazy one. This split personality came with consequences, for, because of this, she was constantly asked to be on espionage missions or assassinations.

But, anyway, TEASING TIME! Tora laughed evilly in her head.

"Aren't you gonna answer me?" Tora asked, and winked at Gaara.

"Um…" Gaara coughed. "This is Tora," he said, gesturing at me, "And this is Neji." He continued, pointing at Gaara.

"Hi, sweetie!" Tora cooed, and then held out a hand to shake.

Neji was eyeing the hand warily, and Gaara still stared at Tora as if she were crazy.

Tora tried to keep a straight face but ended up giggling anyway.

"Relax man, I'm kidding…" Tora said, retracting her hand and digging through her bag for something to eat.

She finally decided to steal a bowl of Naruto's ramen and opened the lid, took a pair of chopsticks from the bag, and started to eat the delicious noodles.

She leaned back and added, "Besides, you're already taken by panda-bear, aren't you?"

"Panda-bear?" Neji questioned, then glanced at Gaara and a slight, almost undetectable blush swept across his cheeks.

Gaara growled and slapped her upside the head.

"What did you to that for PB!" Tora exclaimed, dramatically clutching at her head.

"For embarrassing me, Kit-Kat."

Tora pouted, and then went back to her noodles. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Neji smile a bit, before it flickered and disappeared, like the flame of a candle.

Tora smiled. She wasn't saying that breaking through their target's defenses would be easy…but maybe…just maybe…it wasn't hopeless.

Everyone was silent, eating right now, so she took this chance to speak to Gaara through their mind-link.

"He actually told you his real name?" she said through the mind-link.

"Yes, but only after we'd been talking for a few minutes; I think he was determining if telling me his real name would be a wise choice."

"Okay. Why did you tell him our real names?" she asked.

"In the organization, documents just show our codenames anyway. Besides, we don't use our real names often, not really. Most of the people in the organization know us only as The Three anyway."

"Sou ka."

"What's with calling me Panda-Bear?" Gaara queried, a bit irritated.

"You look like one."

Finished with her afternoon meal, she stood up and said, "Alright, I'll leave you two lover-birds alone. I'm going to go swimming!"

And with that, she charged toward the ocean, and jumped in.

---

Cool waters surrounded Tora when she jumped in, and when she surfaced, she smiled, loving the feeling. She started swimming, seeing how far she could go.

Above, the sun shone in all its glory. The water around her twinkled happily and she cut through it with inhuman grace. Soon, she came across the start of a river. On both sides of it, there were trees and soft land. She climbed onto land, and walked along the riverside. Grass bent under her feet, but as soon as her feet left it, it bounced back up, green and sparkling with dew as ever. But as the river thinned, the undergrowth died, and soon, all that was left was hard, rocky ground. The trees bared, and Tora slowly managed to recognize the place. The river stopped before huge boulders, and Tora placed her small, white hand against the gigantic grayness of the rocks. She laid her cheek upon the surprisingly smooth, cool surface.

It was Sandy Hollows.

Tora didn't usually cry. After killing for the majority of her life, crying was insignificant to her, as well as for the other hunters at her organization. But here, with blood-stained soil beneath her feet, she wanted to cry. So many lives were lost here…so many still to be lost.

Warm wind blew softly on her other cheek, and a few tendrils of her dark blue hair moved in the soft breeze. She stiffened. Everything died here at Sandy Hollows, there was no water, and if so, only a little, and there was definitely no wind! She whipped around, but no one was there, there was still a voice speaking though.

"Aw, looks like you came, little one."

Tora's eyes widened. Unintentionally, she'd gone to the meeting place anyway…and now, she'd pay for it.

"No worries, little one…" the soft voice said.

Tora winced a bit. This must be Itachi, since Orochimaru had a snake-like voice, and this didn't sound like him. Tora would have been less concerned had it been Orochimaru. Despite Orochimaru's famed strength, most of his power came from his vast number of followers. Akatsuki, though they had few members, all of them were strong, abnormally so. And since Itachi was in Akatsuki…

"…No one is here yet, except for me…"

Tora was in a bad situation. The team couldn't earn their target's trust if one of the targets already knew her identity! Not only that, since she'd made it so that Neji knew she knew Gaara, the whole team would be in danger.

And then she realized. Itachi hadn't exactly seen what she looked like, and even if he DID see her, she had had her mask on. Even if he recognized her chakra signature…when she was in hunter form, it was always tweaked a little, so, now, if she kept her regular chakra, and pretended to not know what he was talking about, she was safe!

Besides, he probably just assumed her to be the hunter because she was at the meeting place.

"What are you talking about?" she called out.

There was a chuckle.

"You know what."

Tora put on a confused face. "Huh?"

She didn't have time to carry on this conversation because a moment later a kunai headed straight at her.

Back on the beach, a shrill scream was heard, and then silence.

---

Well, that's it….I know its lame…but bare with me…hehe…

I wrote this while I was watching Dragon Tales on Channel Thirteen. You can't blame me if this got a bit…erm…BAD! You'd be surprised how much inspiration you get from watching a kid show…haha….Well, next chapter will come soon….hopefully…


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